What the Scanner didn't show

Dr. Jennifer Keller awoke from a persistent crackling noise. Blindly, she groped for her comm piece and stuck it into her ear.

"Yes?" she said sleepily.

"Doc?"

"Ronon?" Fully awake now, Jennifer sat up in bed. "What's up?"

"I… I think there's something wrong."

A look at the clock told her it was almost 5 in the morning. Alarm bells went off in Jennifer's head. This was so unlike him.

"What's the problem?"

"You'd better see for yourself."

"Okay, I'll meet you in the infirmary in five minutes."

"Actually, I need you to come to my quarters."

This was getting more and more mysterious. And she didn't like his tone of voice, either. She thought she could detect a suppressed note of panic.

"Sure. I'll be right there."

A few minutes later, Jennifer stood outside Ronon's room, a first aid kit over her shoulder. She used her CMO code to unlock the door, and walked inside.

The room was almost dark, only a soft light coming from an ambient source. As she moved closer, Jennifer was surprised to see that Ronon looked quite normal lying on the bed - except for the fact he was very pale, his expression - haunted. She had expected him to be flushed with fever or maybe covered in spots.

Putting her bag down on the floor, she sat down next to him, putting a hand on his forehead.

"Tell me what's wrong," she said, noting that he was definitely not running a fever.

"I can't move my legs."

"What?"

"I can't move my legs," Ronon repeated, a trace of rising panic in his voice again.

Jennifer had not performed the post mission checkup on him that afternoon because she had been removing a burst appendix at the time... Could her staff have overlooked something?

"Who checked you through when you returned from earth today?'

"Don't know. Never saw her before. Short, chubby, red hair?"

That would be the nurse practitioner who had arrived on the 'Daedalus' only a few days earlier. Jennifer cursed herself for not following up on that day's checkups. But she had been really busy…

"Tell me what happened on the mission. I heard you were in a fight?"

The hint of a smile flashed over Ronon's pale face.

"I got thrown around pretty good by a Replicator."

Jennifer frowned. "Could you specify 'thrown around' for me?"

Ronon recounted the events in the storage building. Jennifer's heart sank when she heard how he had been thrown across the room, landing on the concrete floor.

Tapping her earpiece, she contacted the infirmary and ordered a gurney to be brought to Ronon's quarters. As she got up from the bed, Ronon grabbed her wrist like a drowning man.

"What's wrong with me, Doc?"

Trying to rephrase her diagnosis into simple terms, Jennifer replied "I'm afraid you hurt your back when you hit the floor. Something, probably a cracked bone, is putting pressure on the nerves in your spine, and that's why you can't feel your lower limbs."

"But it will go away again, won't it?"

Taking a deep breath and meeting his fearful gaze, Jennifer decided to tell him the truth.

"I can't tell yet."

Pouring over the results from the scanner, Jennifer was startled when the door to her office opened. Sheppard and Teyla walked in.

"We came as soon as we heard," John said. "How is he?"

"I found the cause for his paralysis," Jennifer replied. "Look here."

She pointed to an area of the scan that showed Ronon's lower back.

"See this white line? It's a hairline fracture in his upper lumbar vertebra. Damage to these vertebrae is very unusual, since they are to a large extent protected by the pelvis. This plus the fact that the gap was infinitesimal was the reason why we didn't notice it on the regular post mission scan yesterday. It was only when we increased the resolution four times and checked every vertebra individually that we found the evidence on yesterday's pictures."

"So can you fix it?"

"I'm prepping Ronon for surgery as we speak, Colonel. While asleep, he must have made a move that pulled the broken parts out of alignment, and now the edge is exerting pressure on his spinal cord, causing a paralysis to his lower limbs."

"But he'll be okay once you fix this?"

Jennifer sighed, looking at Teyla who had not yet said a word.

"I can only assess the damage that has been done during the operation. Everything depends on whether it's really just pressure, or if the nerves have been damaged or even severed." She saw Teyla draw a deep breath.

"Depending on the result, I will be able to tell you if this paralysis is temporary or permanent."

Time seemed to stand still as John paced the waiting area outside the operating room. Teyla was sitting in a chair, her hands folded over her swollen belly.

They both turned around when they heard footsteps approaching almost at a run. Then Rodney burst into the room.

"Just got back from M7G-677," he exclaimed. "What happened? Is it true that he's…?"

"Ronon is in surgery right now, Rodney," Teyla replied. "We should know more after the operation."

"We ran into a Replicator who had gotten loose on earth," Sheppard explained. "That thing threw Ronon across the room, and in the process he cracked one of his vertebrae."

McKay looked form one to the other. "So he's really…"

"He has lost all feeling in his legs," Teyla explained. When she saw Rodney's shocked expression, she added quickly, " We hope that it will be only temporary."

When Jennifer came out of the operating room, Ronon's three team mates were sitting next to each other on a bed. The men jumped to their feet when they saw her. Teyla remained sitting, but Jennifer saw the knuckles whiten on her clenched fists.

"What's the verdict, Doc?" John asked.

"I have good news and bad news," Jennifer began. "The good news is that no parts of the spinal cord have been severed. I have realigned the pieces of the vertebra and wired them together to stabilize them. However, some of the nerves in his spinal cord have been subjected to intense pressure for several hours. At the moment, I cannot say whether these nerves will fully recover or if some of the damage that was done is irreparable."

"But surely there's some sort of treatment, something that will get him back on his feet," John insisted.

"Of course, we will begin a regime of physical therapy coupled with low-current electrical stimulation of the nerves as soon as Ronon has recovered from the surgery. But I won't lie to you. The outcome is completely unknown."

Teyla got up off the bed as well now. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Jennifer nodded. "The cooperation and determination of the patient is crucial to the success of the treatment. If he believes that he can get well again, that will go a long way towards a cure. We've seen miracles happen in cases that were a lot worse than his, just because the patients refused to give up on themselves."

"Don't worry, Doc, he'll get all the help he needs," John assured her, and Teyla and even Rodney nodded in agreement.

"When can we see him?" Teyla asked.

"I will keep him sedated for the next 24 hours. Come back tomorrow at this time."

When the team returned the next morning a very tired Doc Keller awaited them. You could tell that she had hardly slept the night before.

"I'm glad you're here," she told the team. "I hope you can boost his spirits. Ronon has been totally unresponsive to anything we've said. Maybe you can get through to him."

Teyla cocked an eyebrow. "That does not sound like him at all."

Jennifer nodded. "I know. There must be some cause for his depressed state - I mean apart from his physical condition - but he won't even talk to me or my staff."

John hated the post-op room. Too many monitors, dials, beeping gadgets, IV lines… And in the middle of all this was Ronon. His eyes were closed, and he gave no indication that he had heard them enter.

Teyla and Rodney looked at him expectantly, so John approached the bed and cleared his throat.

"Hey there, Big Guy," he said finally. "You really had us worried there for a while."

There was no response.

"Come on, I know this sucks, but the Doc says with the proper treatment and exercise chances are excellent that you'll be as good as new in no time."

John thought he detected a flicker of emotion on the stony features, so he went on.

"It may take a while, but we're a team. We'll see this thing through - together."

When there was still no reaction, John cast a 'why-don't-you-help-me-out-here' look at Teyla. She moved to the other side of the bed immediately, and took Ronon's big hand in hers.

"I realize this is a difficult time for you. But you are strong in body and in mind, and Dr. Keller told us this is the key to a full recovery. This is only a temporary condition, and you…"

"I'm dead."

Teyla was taken aback by the comment for a moment, but at least this was a reaction - albeit the wrong one.

"No, you are not. What makes you say that?"

Ronon opened his eyes and turned his head towards Teyla.

"I had a good friend. He fell off a roof during a Wraith attack. Same thing. Couldn't move his legs, then his arms, then his head… in the end he couldn't even breathe on his own. I was there when he died."

"Now wait a minute," John interrupted, "your case is completely different. And no offense, but our medical equipment and expertise is quite a bit more advanced than anything you had on Sateda."

"Fine," Ronon growled. "So I don't die. But with useless legs, I'll still be only half a man."

"Now see here," John tried to reason with him. "Doc Keller fixed your back, and she says the nerves are okay. There's just some damage from the pressure, but once that heals you will walk again."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No, I'm not. You should know me by now." John leaned over Ronon's bed, looking down at his friend. "Have I ever steered you wrong?"

Very slightly, Ronon shook his head.

"So trust me. You'll be kicking my butt in another sparring match in no time."

After a short pause, Ronon's drawn features relaxed, and he nodded at John. The team breathed a sigh of relief. Just at that moment, Jennifer Keller entered.

"I'm afraid this is all the time I can allow you with him. Ronon still needs a lot of rest."

"We will return soon," Teyla assured the Satedan, squeezing his hand one more time before letting go.

While Jennifer checked Ronon's IVs and monitors, team Sheppard filed out. They were quietly talking among themselves when Jennifer joined them. There was a smile on her tired face.

"Whatever you told him, it's made a lot of difference. He appears cautiously optimistic now, and is ready to cooperate. Thank you all."

"No problem, Doc, it's what we do," John answered. "When are you planning on starting his treatment?"

"I'd like to start with light physical therapy as soon as possible. First thing tomorrow I will give him a sensory test. Hopefully, some feeling will have returned, even if the use of his legs is still a way in the future."

"We will be checking on Ronon regularly," Teyla promised.

"Yeah," John added, "and if you need anything else from us, just let us know.